United Nations gather to discuss plant health and food security

The international community debates about one of the world’s greatest issues.

On Tuesday, September17th, fifteen countries have come together under the United Nations banner with the purpose of debating plant health and its effects on food security and hunger around the world.

At over 7 billion people, one of the greatest challenges the world faces is that of feeding our immense population. One estimate says that around 795 million people are malnourished, according to the Food Aid Foundation. Though this is due to many factors, it can be strongly linked to the enormous losses in produce caused by diseases which ruin a significant portion of crops. The meeting aims at discussing this issue and possibly find ways of lessening the profound impact attributed to these diseases.

Present on this day are, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Indonesia, United States, Haiti, Iraq, Nigeria, Spain, Venezuela, France, Germany, South Africa, India and China. Many of the countries listed are intense agricultural importers or exporters, in spite of that some still have issues feeding their population.

Although some of the debate will take place in a large group fashion, the most important part of the debate will be divided into committees, FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization), WTO (World Trade Organization), and UNEP (United Nations Environment Program). The objective of these committees is to help in facilitating an understanding between countries on all facets of the problem.

This gathering shows iniciative on the part of the international community to address the hunger and lack of food security that afllicts the world today.